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These Convergent Stars
A novella of mistaken identity...
300 years ago, Earth was destroyed, but the Terrans aren’t giving up. Maya Qaitra is a special type of Terran, created to sniff out biologically compatible species. But Maya’s talent comes with a hefty cosmetic price: half the time, she looks like a mountain lion.
On a space station over the planet Elsajh, she’s mistaken for a local shapeshifter and goes with the flow. After all, how better to observe a new species and culture? While impersonating her alien look-alike, Maya stops an invasion and becomes a populist hero. Sure, that seems great, but her mistaken identity stirs trouble for her and her doppelganger. If she’s not careful, she could get her whole species banned from Elsajh forever.
300 years ago, Earth was destroyed, but the Terrans aren’t giving up. Maya Qaitra is a special type of Terran, created to sniff out biologically compatible species. But Maya’s talent comes with a hefty cosmetic price: half the time, she looks like a mountain lion.
On a space station over the planet Elsajh, she’s mistaken for a local shapeshifter and goes with the flow. After all, how better to observe a new species and culture? While impersonating her alien look-alike, Maya stops an invasion and becomes a populist hero. Sure, that seems great, but her mistaken identity stirs trouble for her and her doppelganger. If she’s not careful, she could get her whole species banned from Elsajh forever.
- GenresScience Fiction
101 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 22, 2013
44 people want to read
About the author
Janine A. Southard
17 books82 followersJanine A. Southard writes and edits speculative fiction in between working on videogame projects. She's attended more than the average number of universities, which she claims is a FEATURE not a bug. ("Oxford educated, but Californian at heart;" she's also lived and traveled in Europe, the United States, and Japan.)
Currently, she lives in Seattle with a husband and a cat. The cat pretends to care about this.
Currently, she lives in Seattle with a husband and a cat. The cat pretends to care about this.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 28, 2013
This is a fun novella, a romantic comedy set in space! Janine A. Southard brings her clever prose to Maya's story of mistaken identity. I was amazed by how seamlessly the worldbuilding is integrated into the story, and I loved the shapeshifting descriptions. I'm always excited to read books by this author!
Full disclosure: I was the copy editor for this book.
Full disclosure: I was the copy editor for this book.
June 23, 2014
Fun First Contact Story
Hive Queen Saga author Janine Southard knocks it out of the park in this novella about first contact between a human exploration ship's crewmember and a new species. Some great twists, a bit of hilarity, and some great speculative fiction make this a great read.
Hive Queen Saga author Janine Southard knocks it out of the park in this novella about first contact between a human exploration ship's crewmember and a new species. Some great twists, a bit of hilarity, and some great speculative fiction make this a great read.
February 25, 2024
It's fun and a really quick read. It reminded me of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night," with mistaken identities of indistinguishable cat women (shapeshifters). I recommend getting the Kindle version, though. The paperback is really thin and this is not the kind of book you keep rereading for ever-fresh insights.
January 31, 2016
Take a world of humanity adrift among the stars after the destruction of Earth, mix in some shapeshifting cat-people, and add a good dose of mistaken identity sprinkled with romance and militant violence, and you might get something like These Convergent Stars. This novella is somewhat unique among the books I normally read in that romantic entanglements feature more heavily, yet the romance itself is only one element in a story that, on the whole, I enjoyed.
The story is presented to the reader in a series of depositions from multiple characters after an incident described in the beginning as involving weapons being discharged on alien soil. Don't worry that you'll feel like you're reading court stenography, however: The format is used only as an introductory device in each chapter before slipping into either a first-person or third-person narration of the story. In most cases it worked well, grabbing my interest and pulling me along with the promise that something big went down long enough for me to become invested in the characters and the story itself.
Southard writes her characters well. She mixes engaging personalities with just enough flaws to keep them interesting. A number of times the story made me think of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, a comedy-romance about mistaken identities. (I mean that as a compliment to the book, as Southard executes the identity plot in a skillful and believable manner.)
My primary criticism of These Convergent Stars goes back to the deposition structure concept. (Warning: Minor, vague spoilers ahead...) Based on the fact that every chapter was framed as an investigation, I'd been expecting the incident under investigation to be grander in scope than it turned out to be. Expectations were built up that--for me anyway, and this may be my problem, 'cause I'm weird like that--were never quite paid off. Nevertheless, the novella ended well, in mostly satisfying fashion.
Also, bio-engineered spacefaring shapeshifter cat-agents! Did I mention that? How can you not be curious?
The story is presented to the reader in a series of depositions from multiple characters after an incident described in the beginning as involving weapons being discharged on alien soil. Don't worry that you'll feel like you're reading court stenography, however: The format is used only as an introductory device in each chapter before slipping into either a first-person or third-person narration of the story. In most cases it worked well, grabbing my interest and pulling me along with the promise that something big went down long enough for me to become invested in the characters and the story itself.
Southard writes her characters well. She mixes engaging personalities with just enough flaws to keep them interesting. A number of times the story made me think of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, a comedy-romance about mistaken identities. (I mean that as a compliment to the book, as Southard executes the identity plot in a skillful and believable manner.)
My primary criticism of These Convergent Stars goes back to the deposition structure concept. (Warning: Minor, vague spoilers ahead...) Based on the fact that every chapter was framed as an investigation, I'd been expecting the incident under investigation to be grander in scope than it turned out to be. Expectations were built up that--for me anyway, and this may be my problem, 'cause I'm weird like that--were never quite paid off. Nevertheless, the novella ended well, in mostly satisfying fashion.
Also, bio-engineered spacefaring shapeshifter cat-agents! Did I mention that? How can you not be curious?
February 11, 2016
I bought a copy of These Convergent Stars from the author, Janine A. Southard at a local science fiction convention and I’m very glad I did. Janine Southard created a fast-paced romantic-comedy about Maya, a first contact specialist and the problems she incurs as she observes a new species and their culture.
Southard created an interesting setup and well developed characters especially the protagonist, a genetically-modified shapeshifting cat person, created to sniff out biologically compatible species. In the book, she discovers another group of cat people.
Southard has a fun way to turn a phrase especially in dialogue. One of the first idioms is “Green grass and cool water” when referring to a planet.
I recommend it if you are looking for a fun and fast read that mixes cat people in space, mistaken identity, a first contact situation and romance.
Southard created an interesting setup and well developed characters especially the protagonist, a genetically-modified shapeshifting cat person, created to sniff out biologically compatible species. In the book, she discovers another group of cat people.
Southard has a fun way to turn a phrase especially in dialogue. One of the first idioms is “Green grass and cool water” when referring to a planet.
I recommend it if you are looking for a fun and fast read that mixes cat people in space, mistaken identity, a first contact situation and romance.
December 3, 2013
Fun story. Very entertaining. I love the way Janine Southard phrases things. For example, after a scuffle: "He brushed the detritus from his knees. The floor stuck to his legs even after he'd stalked out the cafe's doors."
I'll admit I did get confused when Zean and Maya finally met each other. I had the impression that Zean and Maya had met and introduced themselves previously (since Zean seemed to recognize Maya), but I could have misread that.
I'll admit I did get confused when Zean and Maya finally met each other. I had the impression that Zean and Maya had met and introduced themselves previously (since Zean seemed to recognize Maya), but I could have misread that.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews